Dr. Mark Van Buskirk Creates Bright Smiles in Crown Point

Dr. Mark Van Buskirk isn’t afraid of hard work. The Hammond, IN native got a grant to attend Wabash College, where he majored in biology and competed on the school’s wrestling team. He painted houses and apartments while attending Indiana University School of Dentistry prior to his graduation in 1982. After receiving his DDS, he worked as an associate for nine years with a local dentist before taking over the practice, now Van Buskirk & Krischke DDS, LLC.

In his spare time, he enjoys spending time under the hoods and behind the wheels of vintage cars, especially Ford hot rods. He is particularly proud of a 1932 Ford roadster that he took to numerous prestigious auto shows, including the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It was named one of the world’s most important 1932 Fords on the 75th anniversary of the iconic automobile, which is often called the “Deuce.”

Some of Dr. Van Buskirk’s favorite experiences pursuing his passion for vintage cars include:

Competing in a reenactment of the famous Cannonball Run from New York City to Dana Point, CA
Racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and El Mirage Dry Lakes in California
Participating in touring events such as the Colorado Grand and the California Mille

In addition to restoring cars, he likes to research them and find out their history. Kathy, his wife since 1991, shares his love of vintage cars. His wedding gift to her was a white MGB roadster. The couple lives on a “hobby farm” with several horses, rescued cats and dogs, and one rabbit.

My grandfather was a dentist and when I was a kid, we’d go there every year in Pennsylvania and we’d be at his house in his office and all the tools just interested me. And I was always curious and always been sort of mechanical in nature. And dentistry really is just tiny engineering.

The most rewarding part is to satisfy a patient’s needs. They might be aesthetic, it might be pain, might be something else, but when somebody has a problem and you solve it, that’s rewarding.

I’ve been practicing from almost 38 years here in Crown Point and I’ve always kept up with continuing education because it’s fun. I just like to learn, generally. I’m happy to be involved with Dr. Krischke in a brand new office with the best technology. And we need to learn about how to use this technology, which makes our services better and wider. The things that we can do for patients, we can do a lot more than we used to be able to do. Now we have handicap access, which we didn’t have before, so people can get in here and we can give them more complex treatment plans and offer better solutions because of our technology and expertise.

Read Why Our Patients Love Us

“I had traditional braces and he just like every month when I came in just made sure that everything was going good and changed my wires. And originally I had a tooth in the middle of my mouth and then …” Read More – Sidney A

“For one, I think, Mark goes about dental work a little different than some dentists. Some dentists, I think, have to do dental work to exist, but I think, Mark comes to his job, doing dental work because he enjoys …” Read More – Polly G

“I’ve been coming here over 20 years. I was remembering that I came here before I got married and my husband actually went to a different dentist. Once we were married, I said, “You really should come to my dentist.” …” Read More – Michelle H

“I’ve had root canals and everything, and I leave feeling no pain. So that’s what I really appreciate about them. But you know, they’re just very professional and very easy to work with. I honestly had no pain. I mean, …” Read More – Margaret A

“I’ve had issues in the past where I’ve had crowns done and root canals done, and it always starts with your tooth starts bothering you, it starts to ache, it doesn’t feel good. I mean you can even call here …” Read More – Katie D.

“I needed crowns because after 10 pregnancies the amount of morning sickness that I faced and the acid that has been in my mouth has made some of my molars crumble. So Dr. Van Buskirk and Dr. Krischke have been …” Read More – Christa S.

Read More Reviews

Sidney A

I had traditional braces and he just like every month when I came in just made sure that everything was going good and changed my wires. And originally I had a tooth in the middle of my mouth and then I … it’s now in the front and everything. It was really smooth. Like I thought it was going to be very crazy because my teeth were awful, but he actually made it really smooth and it went a little bit longer than we thought but that’s because things came up that we didn’t know were going to come up and like I had baby teeth that had never fallen out so he had to pull those.
And so I think it just was like it went longer but they came out better because it went longer. In the beginning I didn’t want to take pictures. My dad had printed a picture on a blanket for my mouth. I was like, “No, that’s not going to work.” I don’t like smile and now like I’m always smiling and I’m a lot more happier and confident like in school or in public.
I would recommend here because they are just always so nice and everything they do comes out fantastic. You won’t regret coming because they’re … they tell you if something’s going to hurt and usually nine times out of 10 it doesn’t hurt. You don’t feel anything. If you’re looking for somewhere where you’re going to be relaxed, calm and everybody’s nice, this is a really nice place to come to.

Polly G

For one, I think, Mark goes about dental work a little different than some dentists. Some dentists, I think, have to do dental work to exist, but I think, Mark comes to his job, doing dental work because he enjoys it. He enjoys seeing people, so he doesn’t make you feel like you’re a burden, and he cares. Yeah, I think that, in a business that it always starts at the top … the energy … and it rolls down all through the staff. I think, that the whole entire office takes on a, really, pleasant atmosphere, that you can come to if you have a problem, you have a question on a bill, and you never have a problem. Everybody handles it professionally and willingly.
Dental offices could, when I was younger, make me, kind of, get the shakes before I get there, because you know there’s a chance that you might have something that needs to be done. You can get a little anxiety over it, but now it’s, like I, kind of, look at it as my day out. “Oh, I’ll go visit everybody at Dr. Mark’s.”

Michelle H

I’ve been coming here over 20 years. I was remembering that I came here before I got married and my husband actually went to a different dentist. Once we were married, I said, “You really should come to my dentist.” He was probably my first referral of dozens of people that I’ve referred to the practice. He had seen a dentist for a cavity and our insurance, it said that his pricing was above what they paid. So he came here and the doctors informed him that he didn’t even have a cavity. So he’s been coming ever since and then as we’ve had children, they’ve been great with my kids. They had a lot of cavities when they were little and were over that with good hygiene and lots of tips from the doctors. Now they’re teenagers and they don’t mind at all coming to the dentist. They’re just very friendly. From the minute you walk in the door, the receptionists are so nice. The hygienists are nice. The doctors are nice. Just from one to next.
They’re very friendly. They make you feel very comfortable. You don’t wait a long time in the waiting room. So for people who are nervous about going to the dentist, they don’t have to worry about that. They bring them back. There’s a TV. They can just relax. They make you feel very comfortable.

Margaret A

I’ve had root canals and everything, and I leave feeling no pain. So that’s what I really appreciate about them. But you know, they’re just very professional and very easy to work with. I honestly had no pain. I mean, they give you instructions, you know, make sure you do this, make sure you do that. I had one where, through my own fault, I didn’t bite down right on the one side. But I had to come back in, they got me right back in the next day, filed it down a little bit, fixed it, and it was good to go. Because I was going on vacation and he said, “We don’t want you spending a week with this pain.”
But they made sure it was really good and numb. The whole thing wasn’t as long and drawn out as I thought it would be. I honestly had no pain. I thought it was going to be really traumatic, and there really wasn’t any pain or anything. So yeah, just again, they’re very calming and easy to work with. So it was like, I was surprised. I would definitely encourage people to come here because it’s, again, the whole office is just comfortable, it’s homey feeling, the staff is great, the hygienists are great. You know, the dentists, they set up a plan for you, they look at everything, they set up a plan, and they work with you through that. You know, they know, the office staff knows, here’s what your entrance is going to take care of, here’s how we can do this. They’ll start working with the crucial stuff first, and then go as we need to, to cover everything. It’s just a really very professional but very friendly.

Katie D.

I’ve had issues in the past where I’ve had crowns done and root canals done, and it always starts with your tooth starts bothering you, it starts to ache, it doesn’t feel good. I mean you can even call here and say, “Hey, something’s wrong with my teeth,” and they will get you in as soon as possible. They’re very good with that.

With those, all the root canals that I’ve had in the past, and then the three that I’ve had here, I’ve had the best experience with the three that I’ve had here. Very little pain afterward, and then the one time that I did have a lot of pain after the root canal, they treated it immediately. They did call in some prescriptions for me and I was taken care of right away. I mean, they treated it right away. I didn’t have any adverse effect from it, and the root canals that I have had done here have had the best outcome that I’ve had from even my prior ones.

Christa S.

I needed crowns because after 10 pregnancies the amount of morning sickness that I faced and the acid that has been in my mouth has made some of my molars crumble. So Dr. Van Buskirk and Dr. Krischke have been able to assess that and then come up with a treatment plan to replace them as needed, not beforehand. So they’ve been able to get me in and improve my bite in such a way that I can still chew and nothing has been eliminated, no problems.

One thing that has really impressed me by Dr. Krischke is that he has maintained a schedule with my insurance company to make sure that the major costs are covered. I’ve had several instances where my teeth have crumbled and they’ve had to have a crown put in and he makes sure that you space those out according to what my insurance company needs. He’s also worked with my insurance company as far as braces have gone for my children. Our insurance company does not cover braces, but Dr. Krischke has made sure to have the treatment plans approved ahead of times for our children. So he’s worked with them to send in x-rays and pictures of their bites and even impressions so that they understood it wasn’t just a cosmetic thing that we were trying to get fixed, but there was issues with the way their teeth were formed or their bite was created. One of our daughters was a preemie, and she was born with a very narrow palette. She’s now 13 and has an amazing smile because Dr. Krischke worked with her.